KRASNOYARSK, October 15. /TASS/. The Norilsk Nickel Company (Nornickel) will invest more than 40 billion rubles ($512 million) in the complex cleaning in Norilsk, which will include revegetation of the soil that was contaminated with fuel in late May, Nornickel’s Vice President, Director of the Polar Division Nikolai Utkin told reporters on Wednesday.
"The cleaning of the area requires a project to revegetate the soil, and we have embarked on it," he said. "The program will be updated accordingly, but as for 40 billion - the sum may only grow, and we will invest more."
The program includes pulling down old abandoned buildings and structures, pipelines and networks and removing scrap metal from around industrial facilities. The program will include all areas of Norilsk, the company’s representative said, adding that the work on outdated buildings and structures would take five years.
On May 29, diesel fuel spilled at combined heat and power plant CHPP No. 3 of the Norilsk-Taimyr Energy Company (incorporated in Norilsk Nickel) near Norilsk due to tank deformation. A vehicle ran into the spill starting a fire. A total of 20,000 cubic meters of fuel leaked into the environment, polluting soil and water in the area. Most of the fuel got into the Ambarnaya and Daldykan Rivers. On June 4, it was said that the spilled oil products should be collected in special tanks and then removed from the scene.
The Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor) estimated the damage to the environment at about 148 billion rubles ($1.89 billion). Norilsk Nickel disagrees with the calculation methodology and intends to dispute it but vows to eliminate the accident’s consequences at the company’s expense. On September 10, the environmental watchdog was reported to have filed a lawsuit against Norilsk Nickel to recover the fine. Earlier, Norilsk Nickel estimated its expenses in cleaning up the accident at 21.4 billion rubles ($274 million).